1. Bimal Terror Link Claim
Bengal Director General of Police Surajit Kar Purkayastha said on Wednesday that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha president Bimal Gurung and some of his associates had links with Northeast-based militant groups and Maoists.
The DGP said the police raid on a jungle camp allegedly housing Gurung and his associates on the banks of the Little Rangeet river on Friday morning was "successful" as a huge cache of arms had been seized.
"The operation carried out a few days ago, which led to the death of one of our young and brave officers, was successful.
A huge cache of firearms and other items were recovered.
(Source: The Telegraph)
2. Fireworks Sale In Ban Zone
A firecrackers market in Lake Town has triggered the possibility of rampant violation of a ban on lighting fireworks around the Salt Lake stadium during the FIFA U- 17 World Cup.
The 150-stall market — on the service road of Lake Town, off VIP Road — has been organised at the behest of local Trinamul MLA Sujit Bose.
"Fireworks sellers approached me and so I have organised the bazi bazaar.... Many people are buying fireworks from there," Bose told Metro on Wednesday evening.
The notification announcing the ban — issued by environment secretary Arnab Roy — does not specify any radius around the stadium within which fireworks cannot be lit.
But state pollution control board officials had earlier clarified that any point within 5km of the stadium falls in the prohibited zone.
Lake Town is well within 5 km of the stadium.
(Source: The Telegraph)
3. Bag Tiff: Man Bites Off Youth's Earlobe
A man bit off a youth's earlobe in Barasat following an argument on a local train over keeping a bag in the luggage rack on Tuesday evening, police said.
Hasanur Sardar, in his mid-20s, was taken to a health centre in Vasila and later shifted to the district hospital, about 3km away, in Barasat.
Sardar lodged a complaint against Farukh Mandal, in his late 20s, and his friends with the Barasat police station.
The two got into an argument after the train, headed towards Hasnabad, left Barasat station, the police said.
" The compartment was crowded. As Mandal tried to reach the luggage rack to keep his bag, he accidentally hit Sardar on his head with his elbow," an officer said. The two got into an argument and were about to hit each other when fellow passengers stopped them.
(Source: The Telegraph)
4. Chikungunya Goes Unscreened Amid City Dengue Crisis
A doctor of a private hospital off EM Bypass who has been treating dengue and malaria patients for the last three months has been affected by chikungunya -also a vector-borne illness with symptoms similar to those of the other two more common viruses. His wife -also a doctor -has been affected as well. Even as the dengue outbreak continues to get severe in Kolkata, scores of chikungunya patients have remained undiagnosed in the city, according to hospitals and experts. A large number of people living in the northern fringes of the city, including Salt Lake and Lake Town, have been affected, believe doctors.
Debashish Saha, a senior consultant at AMRI Hospital, Salt Lake was admitted to the same hospital with chikungunya symptoms last week. While Saha was discharged on Monday -he is still weak and has excruciating joint pain -his wife Suchandra Ray Saha, a teacher at the Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER), has had chikungunya symptoms since Sunday . A test, however, has not confirmed the disease.
Source: The Times Of India
5. Air Quality Worsens Days Ahead Of Festivities
The air quality of the city has worsened even before the arrival of Kali Puja. Data collected from different sources on Tuesday and Wednesday midnight revealed a sharp spike in pollution, an outcome of bursting of crackers, which was probably triggered by the fear of impending rain.
“People have started bursting crackers a bit early because of the rain prediction,“ said Sudipta Bhattacharya of Saviour and Friends of Environment, an NGO.
US consulate, which records PM2.5 count across the globe, found sudden spike in pollution after a long period of satisfactory ambient air quality. On Tuesday midnight, the PM2.5 count was recorded at 224gm3 at its Park Street monitoring station. “This is mainly because of fireworks.Otherwise, the PM2.5 has been at a satisfactory level throughout this month,“ said Somendra Mohan Ghosh of World for Better Living, another NGO.
(Source: The Times Of India)
6. Parents Arrested For Rape Of Minor Daughter
A Class-XI girl of a reputable school in Dum Dum has lodged a complaint against her parents for raping and sexually assaulting her over the past few months and trying to force her into prostitution.
Based on the complaint, officers of Dum Dum police station have arrested the father, a small-time businessman and the mother -who is now married to another person -under multiple sections of Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) early on Tuesday . Both were produced before a Barasat court and were sent to judicial custody till October 23. The girl has been sent to a government home.
According to the complaint, (a copy of which is in possession with TOI) the girl alleges that on January this year while her mother's current husband was away at work, the mother and the girl's biological father took her to Digha, where the man allegedly raped her seven times in two days.“The girl alleged that when she approached her mother, she allegedly told her that her father was getting her ready to become a prostitute and she should cooperate with him. They even threatened her with dire consequences if she told about the assault to anyone,“ said Sohini Adhikari, the lawyer, who helped the girl to lodge the complaint and get her tormentors behind bars.
(Source: The Times Of India)
7. Masked Men Chop Off 25 Trees, Vandalize Statues Near Nabanna
Several trees were chopped off and statues damaged by alleged masked miscreants in the last two days, undoing the beautification work by the Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC).
A group of three men chopped off at least 25 trees. While some were completely uprooted, others lost branches. The areas that witnessed such a large-scale environmental destruction are Foreshore Road, Kazipara and Jagat Banerjee Ghat Road opposite Avani Riverside Mall. These areas fall between the civic body's ward numbers 29 and 35, which is within 1.5 km of Nabanna.
(Source: The Times Of India)
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